Read John 1:12 again.

> John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name . . .." 

When they believed, they received the RIGHT to become children of God.  They didn't become children of God yet, but only received the RIGHT to become such.  Hmmmmm.... *So how do they use that right?*

Galatians 3:26-27

> For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The right to become a child of God is received at the point of belief, and is used at the point of baptism.

Now to bring in Acts 2:38 we first bring in John 3:5

>  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

How is a man born of water and of the Spirit at the same time?  Acts 2:38 answers that question.   For when a believer (who has received the right to become a child of God) gets baptized in water, they receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, and are thus born of both water and of the Spirit at once:

> Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This is a position that would be held by a few, but very few, denominations, including the "churches of Christ" that came out of the Restoration Movement.  Most denominations prefer to ignore the connections between these verses and focus more on Romans 4 using it to obliterate the connections here.